Comparing the plight of Syrian refugees to the pilgrims who celebrated the first Thanksgiving in 1621, President Obama made a holiday plea Thursday for Americans to accept the migrants with open arms.

“So much of our greatness comes from our generosity,” he said in his weekly radio address.

Obama has committed to accept 10,000 refugees from war-torn Syria this year — but the plan has come under fierce assault from Republicans since the Paris terror attacks.

“Nearly four centuries after the Mayflower set sail, the world is still full of pilgrims,” Obama said, “men and women who want nothing more than the chance for a safer, better future for themselves and their families. What makes America America is that we offer that chance.”

Obama said he’s been inundated by letters and emails from Americans offering to take Syrians fleeing ISIS into their homes.

“We turn Lady Liberty’s light to the world, and widen our circle of concern to say that all God’s children are worthy of our compassion and care,” the President said. “That’s part of what makes this the greatest country on Earth.”

President Obama said Americans have flooded him with letters and emails to say they'll welcome Syrian refugees into their homes.

(Susan Walsh/AP)

Obama stressed that warnings that refugees would pose a danger are overblown since people entering the country are thoroughly screened.

“Now, people should remember that no refugee can enter our borders until they undergo the highest security checks of anyone traveling to the United States,” he said. “That was the case before Paris, and it’s the case now. And what happened in Paris hasn’t stopped Americans from opening their arms anyway.”

Migrants and refugees from African countries hold placards as they wait to cross the Greek-Macedonian border near the vilage of Idomeni on Nov. 20.

“This image gripped the world, literally. Gov. Christie specifically said he did not think it was appropriate for small children to be brought in. Is this what he wants to see happen to people? Is this what he wants to see happen to children?”

Last week, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton was a bit more cautious, saying, “In some areas of the world, it is difficult to validate their situation. We have pretty high standards of documentation to come into this country. And in some instances, it’s going to be very difficult to validate, and if you can’t validate, a decision’s going to have to be made that we can’t let them in.”